Female coach developer program launches

Football Federation Australia (FFA), in collaboration with FIFA, will run a Female Coach Developer Program for six chosen applicants.

Having secured FIFA funding, the running of this Female Coach Developer Program aims to meet the dual goals of improving both the quality and quantity of FFA’s coach developer workforce, and to increase the number of female coaches working within football.

This program is in line with FFA’s Strategic Plan for 2016-19 which identifies establishing FFA as the ‘leading organisation for females in sport’ as one of the four key principles.

“FFA is committed to being a leading organisation for females in sport, supporting female coaches is a key part of this commitment.

"This program provided a fantastic opportunity for six participants to improve their coaching skills and knowledge and we expect the number of female coaches working within football will increase as a result," said Emma Highwood, Head of Community, Football Development and Women’s Football.

The six applicants were chosen by a FFA selection panel to be involved in the Female Coach Developer Program, with the program to involve both distance learning and interpersonal components.

The six successful applicants are:

· Ann Gourley (Perth)

· Deb Fisher (NSW)

· Rani Cavaretta (NSW)

· Louise McColl (VIC)

· Mel Lum (VIC)

· Joey Peters (NNSW)

The program includes two four-day workshops at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on October 10-13 and March 13-16, 2017.